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Am an expat student in the U.S., Am I going to get the same student benefits and discounts in the U.S. just like the local students using my student ID?

Nean Der Thal
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Ultimately it is up to the individual company or venue to set whether or not they make a distinction between domestic or international students but I am yet to find one that does.

From Carnegie Hall:

Buy your tickets at the Box Office on 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. A student photo ID is required for purchase of up to two tickets.

which means that as long as your student ID is valid you should be able to obtain a discounted ticket.

In addition I would think that making a discount/service limited based whether the student has residency in the US or not is likely to bring a constitutional challenge to such limitation but IANAL.

Karlson
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  • iANAL? sounds like another product from Apple. – Nean Der Thal Mar 14 '14 at 15:14
  • Not quite but that's a different discussion. :) – Karlson Mar 14 '14 at 15:16
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    +1 in that no establishment is required to recognize a particular student ID— even one from a U.S. institution. I had a restaurant in Syracuse, NY try to decline a 10% "student discount" to me once, saying it was a promotion intended only for students enrolled in the local area, whereas I was visiting from about an hour away in Ithaca. (That said, they didn't resist when I insisted). – choster Mar 14 '14 at 15:52
  • @choster That was probably more of a question which school did you have an id from. I remember being limited for the number of purchases in West Lafayette just because my credit card had an Indiana University logo and colors. :) – Karlson Mar 14 '14 at 18:09
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The easiest way to get around the problem is to get an International Student ID card. You have a lot of information in: http://www.isic.org/ They also connect you to sites that offer discounts. Quite useful.

arkaia
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  • I am not sure this will be accepted as a Student ID or help with the concern that discount may be available for the international student. – Karlson Mar 14 '14 at 15:17
  • This isn't a universal way to get around the problem at all. The ISIC card is issued by a private company; no business or government in the U.S. is required to accept it. All it provides is reassurance for certain organizations which have stated that they do accept it. – choster Mar 14 '14 at 15:48
  • I agree that it is not a universal solution, but in my personal experience the ISIC card has been accepted when my normal student ID hasn't. – arkaia Mar 14 '14 at 15:53
  • if you cannot get a local student ID this might be your best bet. – SztupY Mar 14 '14 at 16:58
  • @SztupY If you are a student why wouldn't you be able to get School Student ID? – Karlson Mar 14 '14 at 18:10
  • @Karlson: for example if you are an Erasmus student spending a few semesters abroad in another university it's not self explanatory that you will get a student ID in the guest university, while your native university's student ID might not be accepted abroad. – SztupY Mar 14 '14 at 18:12
  • @SztupY Erasmus seems to be a Europe only program. The question was specific to the US. Where if you are a student you can get an ID from school. – Karlson Mar 14 '14 at 18:18
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From my experience in a state accredited private University, as a foreign student I was not eligible for any financial aid or (of course) discount on tuition. Anything that required a student ID though is the same for everybody in my experience: foreign students are issued the same Student IDs as everybody else.

Olivier Lacan
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